One killed, one wounded in south side shootings REGIONAL BRIEFING
Ozaukee mom charged after son rides on roof of minivan
Putting her son on the roof of their minivan probably seemed like a good idea at the time.
Amber Schmunk, 29, of Fredonia was trying to get a plastic wading pool home Sept. 9 and it didn’t fit in the minivan, so she put it on the roof — along with her 9-year-old son to hold it in place.
Another driver reported the unusual sight to Saukville police and two patrol cars stopped Schmunk a few minutes later after she had dropped the pool off at her sister’s house on S. Colonial Parkway.
Schmunk told police her dad let her do things like that when she was 9, and besides, she had her son strapped down on top of the pool and the roof ride only lasted 20 to 30 seconds before she moved her son back inside, and wedged the pool in, too. The person who called 911 followed Schmunk for about a block before she stopped and took her son down from the roof.
The police saw it differently, and now Schmunk is charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety, a felony. She is scheduled to make her initial court appearance in Ozaukee County Circuit Court on Nov. 14.
Officer charged after woman complains of harassment
A Milwaukee police officer persisted in sending lewd text messages to a woman he met on a dating app after she told him to leave her alone, according to a criminal complaint.
Anthony A. Synowicz Jr., 36, of New Berlin, is suspended pending an internal investigation by the Milwaukee Police Department, a department spokesman said Tuesday.
Synowicz, who is charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer, is also accused of driving to the woman’s place of employment after she told him to stay away from her, the complaint filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court said.
In a series of text messages May 16 and 17, Synowicz became angry with the woman, whom he met on MeetMe.com, the complaint said.
He lied to a Muskego police officer by identifying himself with the fake name he used on the dating app, according to the complaint.
He was hired as a Milwaukee police officer in November 2015, according to Fire and Police Commission records.
Two people were shot, one fatally, in separate shootings on the south side of Milwaukee, police said Tuesday morning.
In the first incident, about 11:55 p.m. Monday, Humberto Varela-Caballero, 30, of Milwaukee was shot and killed during an apparent robbery in the 2100 block of S. 7th St.
A little more than two hours later, a 30-year-old Milwaukee man was shot in the 2900 block of S. 14th St. That shooting, too, appears to be robbery-related, police said. The victim is in stable condition at a hospital.
Police are seeking suspects in both shootings.